FELDSTED: Taking a road less travelled. Saving jobs is a side issue – a ‘red herring’; not a justification for unlawful interference in the judicial process.
The saddest part about the unravelling SNC-Lavalin
scandal is how shocked we are when an honest and ethical member of the
government refuses to be bullied and stands up for the rule of law and good
government. Very few of us realized how far we have fallen from the basic
principles honest and open democratic governance. We presumed that our
government obeyed the law. Apparently not so.
We have grumbled about government favouritism to
central Canada, but we have never been confronted with obvious favouritism that
goes far beyond favours for friends and crosses the lines of ethical, equal and
legal treatment of all Canadians.
Our democracy has been hijacked by political
parties who have no interest in good government. Their focus in on acquiring
and maintaining political power. As a consequence, every decision made by the
government in power is weighed in the balance of electability – will this
decision garner votes or lose us votes in an election? Can the decision be
modified to give us a better result?
Governing based on electability naturally gives an
advantage to our most heavily populated areas. That is why auto worker jobs in
Ontario, and construction jobs in Quebec, gain the attention of the federal
government while jobs in our fisheries, forestry and petroleum sectors are
considered collateral damage unworthy of special attention because the
political fallout is manageable.
Watching Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on TV last
night, speaking after Jody Wilson-Raybould testified before the Commons Justice
Committee, was painful. He disagreed with her assessment of being under intense
pressure to interfere in SNC-Lavalin prosecutions. We don’t care if he ‘disagrees’.
That is not the issue. Did he and his senior staff try to coerce
Wilson-Raybould to interfere in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution or not? Saving jobs
is a side issue – a ‘red herring’; not a justification for unlawful
interference in the judicial process.
In his next statement, Prime Minister Trudeau
answered the question by stating that his government had an obligation to save
jobs and maintain the economy. In his mind that allows the PMO to try to
convince Wilson-Raybould to interfere in a prosecution which is unlawful. Worse
than his splitting hairs to justify unethical actions, his is not consistent.
If a government has an obligation to protect jobs, he cannot explain why
preserving jobs in the oil patch was not a government priority.
The government has no business interfering in
private enterprise. The government’s job is to create an economic environment
that encourages private sector investment and for business and industry to
locate and thrive in Canada. Government interference in private enterprise has
the opposite effect by creating a two-tier business environment where the
playing field is not level and investors are wary.
Not many years ago, SNC-Lavalin could not secure
major contracts through its offices in Calgary because local governments would
not accept the bribery common in Quebec contracting. That speaks to the dangers
of government interference in business rather than ensuring the playing field
is the same everywhere in the nation.
One thing about the whole SNC-Lavalin affair that
sticks out sharply is that our government shows no concern for the contractors
who bid on contracts SNC-Lavalin won through bribery. What about their business
losses due to unlawful activities sanctioned by government? What about the jobs
lost to those contractors?
Choosing, or taking, a road less traveled |
Prime Minister Trudeau has taken advantage of a
system that lacks the checks and balances that ensure that governments act
ethically and lawfully. We must ensure that the PMO, and Parliament, are
restructured to prevent recurrence under any government. Some things that must
change:
... the Senate must be depoliticized and follow the
constitution which has representatives divided by region (Atlantic, Quebec,
Ontario & West) not by political affiliation;
... we must reinstate the Executive, which consists
of the Governor General acting on behalf of the Queen, supported by a non-political Privy Council Office that acts as a
resource and counsel to the Governor General. Additionally, we need to divide the offices
of the Attorney General and Justice Minister. The Attorney General cannot
participate in Cabinet discussions without compromising the position and the
Justice Minister prides assistance and advice to Cabinet and cannot deal with
Justice Department issues and matters;
After that, we need to implement and enforce strict
rules that prohibit political parties from influencing elected members in any
way, and stop all ‘whipped’ votes in the Commons. All MPs must be free to vote
on any issue in accordance with their understanding of the issues and in the
interests of the people they represent;
We need to eliminate “omnibus bills” that make
changes to two or more major pieces of legislation to escape scrutiny of the
changes by the appropriate House standing committees.
As called for by a number of provinces, we need to
amend and simplify the Equalization formula calculation. Its complexity invites
abuse. Cheats and crooks are good at figuring out how to beat the system.
Additionally, we need to rescind the Official
Languages Act. Most of its key elements were incorporated into the 1982
amendments to the Constitution, under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We do
not need a commissioner dictating what government positions must be bilingual.
Civil service promotions must be merit based. Providing services in both
languages is a service level activity, not a management requirement.
And finally, we need to rescind the Canadian
Multiculturalism Act. We managed to get along without government guidance for
121 years before this travesty was introduced and settled differences without
bloodshed. We do not need to be told how to respect one
another.
All of the above can be accomplished without
constitutional changes. All of these issues are covered in various pieces of
legislation the government created and can amend.
John Feldsted
Political Consultant
& Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba
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